How COVID-19 Is Testing My Leadership Skills and What It Is Teaching Me Along the Way – a Weekly Update (Week One)

Let me start by saying this: Like most of us who share a C-suite title, we believe we are good leaders. Over 25 years of practice, I have learned a lot about leadership and I have also made my share of mistakes. But the challenges we are collectively facing—in keeping ourselves, our families, our communities and our businesses safe—has proven to be my largest test yet.

When we all look back at 2020, I think we will discover that COVID-19 provided a tremendous learning opportunity for leaders across the globe. But for right now, I think it is also important to share what we are learning along the way.

Over the next few weeks, I’m planning to share some leadership insights on how Calabrio is adjusting to this new normal. You can read my full thoughts on TMCnet, but here’s a quick summary of the takeaways.

• Make Technology Your Friend, But Humanize Experiences
  • Our employees are working in uncertain times and they need more than just tools to do their jobs. They need to feel connected as human beings.
• Create New Connection Points
  • We created a working from home best practices channel where those more seasoned at remote working could offer advice to employees new to the arrangement and reassure them that they are not alone. Discover more resources we’ve created to help you manage the work-from-home transition here.
• Offer Unique Outlets for Stress and Anxiety
  • We have rolled out live yoga sessions that anyone can join from home. Teams are scheduling virtual coffee breaks that create a sense of normalcy that you would typically get by meeting up with co-workers at the office coffee counter or the shop around the corner.
• Refocus Employee Purpose & Rethink Customer Collaboration
  • We have prioritized the need to ‘surround our customer’ and rethink how we offer support. We have asked, ‘What do customers need now?’ and ‘How do we provide this support in a pure digital capacity?’

Join me and let’s test our leadership limits to lay a new path through uncharted territory. Read my full thoughts on TMCnet.

Tom Goodmanson

Tom Goodmanson, President and CEO of Calabrio, has more than 20 years of experience leading fast growing dynamic software and technology companies. Since assuming the CEO position in 2009, Tom is credited with reinventing the company and its culture around a strategy to expand value and reach through new, innovative products, and remarkable customer experiences. Addressing the market need for simpler solutions to complex customer interaction challenges, Tom’s vision to redefine the standard for software ease-of-use has been instrumental in making Calabrio one of the fastest growing companies in the industry.